Kelly Sadler, who joked about McCain’s health, has left White House

The restructuring of the White House communications shop began in earnest on Tuesday when Kelly Sadler, the communications aide who came under fire for a flippant comment about Sen. John McCain’s health, was let go, according to two administration officials.

Lawyers for the White House counsel’s office were spotted inside her office in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in the afternoon — the standard move when someone suddenly departs the White House.

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In recent weeks, President Donald Trump has ordered a wide-ranging housecleaning of his communications team. Additional junior and mid-level aides are expected to be fired or reassigned to jobs in federal agencies in the coming weeks. But instead of a mass exodus, people are expected to leave one by one or in small groups as the White House tries to avoid a spate of negative headlines, or the impression that it’s firing people for allegedly leaking information without any tangible evidence.

Trump recently told people close to him that it’s not just the junior people in the press or communications shop whom he suspects of leaking information, leading some Republicans close to the White House to wonder whether the reorganization could also affect more senior-level staff.

Sadler’s firing also came after the president had assured her directly that her job was safe.

“The reaction isn’t good,” said one Republican close to the White House in describing the current mood. “If the president telling you your job is safe isn’t enough for you to keep your job, then what is? Things have spiraled completely out of control.”

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Sadler joked last month during a closed-door meeting at the White House that McCain’s opposition to Gina Haspel’s nomination to lead the CIA didn’t matter because he’s “dying anyway.” McCain, who has an aggressive form of brain cancer, has been receiving treatment in Arizona and has not appeared in the Senate this year.

Sadler’s leaked comments set off a firestorm in Washington, but neither Trump nor his staff publicly rebuked her. Instead, the president viewed the widespread reporting about her comments as a sign that leaking in the White House had gotten out of control. During an Oval Office meeting shortly after the episode, Trump pressed Sadler to identify the leakers in the administration.

The White House communications team currently has about two dozen staffers, with the press shop consisting of another dozen people.

The White House press office declined to comment on Tuesday except in a written statement from Raj Shah, the principal deputy press secretary, that “Kelly Sadler is no longer employed within the Executive Office of the President.”